Celebrating Alby’s birthday with experiences

A ‘hot lap’ in a tank completed the laser tag activity gift we gave Alby.

The Laser Tag gift we got Alby for his 7th birthday and Christmas present involved a ‘hot lap’ in a tank! After seeing and hearing from him and his friends about how much fun they had, I feel awesome about choosing to give an experience! At the end of the day, we’ve not only given Alby the gift but also nine other children that he wanted to share the experience with. They spent the day outdoors getting lots of exercise, working in teams and discussing strategies.

A few hours of laser tag provided lots of fun, exercise, and team work.

This is not the first time we’ve combined the birthday and Christmas gift. Last year we gave Alby a motorbike for his 6th birthday and explained that this was his Christmas present too, and that because it was such as special gift, this also took the place of a party with friends. I was nervous that he would feel left out on Christmas Day but I had nothing to worry about, he understood and made me proud with how he handled the situation. It was the same this year. As every caller on the morning of his birthday asked what presents he had gotten, I heard him explaining that he hadn’t received anything yet because his gift from Mum and Dad was to play laser tag with his friends that afternoon and because it was a ‘big’ gift, it was his Christmas present too, just like last year with the motorbike. He is such a good kid!

Alby motorbike riding with his grandfather.

I feel we are helping Alby understand the value of things (which will go some way toward counteracting a disposable culture) by explaining our reasons for a combined gift and negotiating whether a birthday party will take place. This year when he said he wanted to do laser tag for his birthday I was happy he was focused on an experience but I needed to be clear what that would mean so I said “…your choice is to play laser tag with all your friends, or not have a ‘party’ and get some other present instead.” After a couple of seconds, he had decided he would prefer laser tag. That’s what was important to him, and rightly so! The fun of playing laser tag with his friends is now an awesome memory they share going forward and this is important for developing friendships and being happy. But to be completely honest, he was smart enough to know that he would still get other gifts from friends and grandparents. However, by keeping celebrations to small groups of close friends and family we don’t end up with excessive amounts of ‘stuff’ because people know our child and give a more meaningful gift. It’s also much easier to aim for a zero waste party!

Alby made these lolly bags for his guests from paper we recycled and we bought unpackaged lollies in our own bag to fill them.

We knew Alby’s motorbike would be a worthwhile investment in our family because we live on a farm, have many relatives that ride motorbikes, he had excellent pushbike riding skills, and he had been expressing an interest in riding for some time. As it turns out he has ridden the bike almost every day for the past year. We will eventually pass it on to Ainsley if she wants to start riding and then a younger cousin. My point about the motorbike is that some gifts like this can facilitate experiences and social interaction, and that gifts should be a good fit with family values and family life. They shouldn’t be just another thing that ends up in landfill in 6 months’ time.

When Alby was five, he was mad about horses, cattle and cowboys (and had been for several years) so we gave him the gift of a horse riding activity with seven friends.

Providing children with enriching experiences is often recommended by child and parenting experts as a way to develop brain connections, social, emotional, and physical skills, and understanding about the world. Experiences definitely don’t need to cost a lot of money and most kids only really want the gift of our time anyway. There are endless ways to give our time that don’t cost anything at all. It might also be worth thinking about what you spend on presents for your child for their birthday, and then for their party, and then for Christmas, and deciding if all that money can’t be spent in a better way. Alby has proven to me that kids are more interested in a few well though-out gifts and experiences than masses of plastic fantastic.

The other day I read a great article in The Sydney Morning Herald called Should I buy my kids more stuff? I read it because it quotes Michael Grose, a parenting expert whose work I read a lot of. It talks about how children that receive many material rewards from their parents will continue to reward themselves with material goods during adulthood. I’ve previously written about the environmental problems of materialism and the lie that stuff makes us happy, and this article highlights these issues as a concern too. The article also delves into benefits for children like improved creativity if they have less. It’s worth a read if you’re not already convinced. So to raise happy fulfilled individuals and to lessen our environmental impact we need to stop the obsession with giving our kid’s so much stuff!

There is much more I could write about gift giving that I feel strongly about but I have decided to stick to the original topic of this post or else it will become a thesis! I’ll write about those thoughts some other time. Going forward we will continue to assess the needs and interests of our children and provide relevant experiences within our means.

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2 thoughts

So true. I think back to what are the memorable birthdays our kids had and without a doubt it would be the experiences ones. A day at Walhalla (although one kid did say it was the worst ever birthday he’s been to), surfing, camping, visiting the sand dunes at the Prom, Puffing Billy etc, etc. God, if it was a lap in a tank today it would have been red hot! Happy birthday Alby. 🙂

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Hi there, I'm Tammy Logan. Do you love reducing your environmental impact? Me too! I love sharing my simple tips, honest stories, and latest discoveries, all leading to a healthy, meaningful life. If you don't want to miss any of this, follow my blog to get each new post sent straight to your inbox.

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Tammy Logan is the author of Gippsland Unwrapped, a blog committed to the pursuit of plastic and waste free living. Based in Gippsland, Victoria Tammy combines her experience in conservation biology and community engagement with her dairy farming roots, to deliver a humble and honest approach to plastic and waste free family life. Tammy wants to prove that living sustainably results in a more meaningful life and that as consumers, our buying power can be a strong force for positive change.